About the
Language
Khmer
is the official language of Cambodia and one of
the major languages of Southeast Asia. It is
spoken by eleven million people in Cambodia and
nearly three million more outside Cambodia. It
belongs to a family of languages widely
distributed in southern Asia and is the idiom of
one of the earliest of the great nation-states in
the region. As such it is the vehicle of
sophisticated forms of architecture, the plastic
arts, music, dance, literature and statecraft
which are transmitted to Cambodia's neighbors and
which are still admired today. The writing system
it employs is a member of the Indic script family,
which spread from India into Inner Asia and all of
Southeast Asia except Vietnam. Khmer is a
non-tonal but has vowel distinctions not found in
English; its grammar is uncomplicated, with
neither verb conjugations nor noun declensions,
and is not unlike that of English.

Fulfilling the Language Requirement
and the Certificate In
Khmer
Introductory and
intermediate coursework in Khmer may be used to
fulfill the foreign language requirement for all
bachelor's degrees on the Manoa campus. Upon
completing 15 credit-hours beyond the intermediate
level with a 3.0 GPA in his/her coursework, the
student may apply for a Certificate
in Khmer. Also, Khmer language
through online classes is
offered. Please refer to this
page.

About the
Program
Coursework
in Khmer at the University of Hawai'i (UH) is
offered by the Department of Hawaiian and
Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures and
includes four levels of study. Courses
on other aspects of Cambodia (such as history,
anthropology, archeology, art, art history,
historic preservation, economics, environmental
studies, peace studies, business, and Asian
Studies) are offered by experts on the staff of
other UH departments. The Khmer language course at
UH is coordinated by Prof. Dr. Chhany Sak-Humphry.